Nuri Sahin blamed Brendan Rodgers for his unsuccessful Premier League stage at Liverpool, as the manager made him play in a position he was not used to.
The midfielder, who joined his former club Borussia Dortmund in January, thanked God for not being any longer under Rodgers’ management, The Metro Reports.
“I did not fail at Liverpool. Brendan Rodgers wanted me to play as a number 10. But I do not play behind the strikers”.
“I talked to him and asked him why he was playing me there. It is not my real position. The coach could not answer me”, he assured.
And the Turkish added: “I thank God I have left Brendan Rodgers”.
Nevertheless, the 24 year-old, who joined the Reds on loan from Real Madrid before returning to Germany in the January window, keeps a good memory of his days at Anfield.
“Still, I have no regrets. To play at Anfield was a wonderful experience. And maybe if I had not gone there I would not have been able to return to Borussia Dortmund. For that, I am happy”, the Turkey international said.
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Sahin, who only played 12 games with Liverpool, is not a regular yet in Jurgen Klopp’s plans and has featured mainly as a substitute with Dortmund.
Roberto Martinez insists Wigan will continue to play passing football as they battle to stay in the Premier League.
Latics again turned on the style to defeat Millwall 2-0 in Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final and the Spaniard has vowed to stick by the same principles as his side fight another relegation battle.
Positive results for Sunderland and Aston Villa over the weekend mean Wigan are back in the bottom three and face battle to beat the drop over the remaining games of the season.
However, while Martinez wants his players to fight for survival, he also wants them to play good football.
“I have never been tempted to change,” he said. “From starting as a manager at Swansea in 2007, it hasn’t been easy.
“Everyone looks at Swansea now and thinks they have played that way for 20 years. It took six months. It was very new and people had to be educated.
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“But since I left my country to join the British game I would never change my football beliefs.”
Spurs defender Younes Kaboul could return from injury in time for the clash with Manchester City on Sunday.
The France ace has been out for the entire season, bar a few minutes, and underwent surgery on his knee last August but he played for the development side last week against West Ham and is now set for another run out.
Kaboul returned to training last week and is set for a 90 minute outing on Monday afternoon, and if he comes through that without any problems then he could be in line for a place in the squad on Sunday.
William Gallas is a doubt for the City clash so Kaboul’s return would be a timely one but the boss is unlikely to risk him if there is any doubt about his fitness.
Spurs U21 coach Chris Ramsey was delighted with Kaboul’s performance against West Ham, “He did well, had no problems really,” Ramsey told Sky.
“He wanted to play an extra 15 minutes as well, showed a fantastic attitude and wanted to push his fitness a little more.
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“Overall, when you look at the fact that a player like Younes returns to action after eight months out and the experience the younger lads gain playing alongside him, it’s another great exercise for us.”
A Fernando Torres in his prime is something every Arsenal fan would love to see at the Emirates. But that Torres is long gone, now replaced by a shadow of the player who once lit up the Premier League and could be considered the best in the world.
There is work to be done for both Arsenal and Torres, and off the bat it is far from a partnership that could work. The lack of patience for the Spanish forward would be astonishing at the Emirates, only likely to further his underwhelming performances and lack of cutting edge in league games. How far do we go in entertaining this rumour that was thrown out over the weekend? Arsenal have been linked with everyone there is to name ahead of this summer; why wouldn’t someone throw Torres’ name in the hat just for kicks?
[cat_link cat=”arsenal” type=”list”]
But the issue here is that Torres does need a move away from Chelsea and away from English football. He won’t line up for Real Madrid, for reasons beyond his diminishing status in the game, while even Barcelona and their apparent need for a Plan B would seem a stretch.
It wasn’t too long ago that Torres himself claimed to be returning to his best. What he defines as “best” I’m not quite sure, but it’s far from what he produced in his debut season at Anfield. The pace is gone but surely the intelligence hasn’t deserted him too. Torres should still be capable of scoring 20 league goals in a season if he adapts his game and, importantly, people stop baying for something comical. The Premier League as a whole won’t be so kind.
Napoli is another club who have been linked with the Spaniard, though that could just be due to the convenience of Rafa Benitez taking over at the San Paolo this summer. Much like at the Emirates, how would those in Naples greet the idea of Torres replacing the possibly outgoing Edinson Cavani? It just amounts to another dead end for the striker, unless of course he can muster a season-long effort that resembles something above a decent striker.
Torres would have been one of the most disappointed by Spain’s loss to Brazil in the final of the Confederations Cup. For long spells in the game, Julio Cesar had very little to do. Juan Mata, likely through fatigue, had one of his worst and most ineffectual games in recent memory. But Torres is seen as the senior striker in the squad, even ahead of David Villa, who often plays wide when Torres is in the team. It only takes a poor season from him and a very good one from a collection of his compatriots for him to be completely out of the squad for next summer’s World Cup. He surely knows that, Vicente Del Bosque, who has stood by the striker through difficulties, can surely not be so kind after the Confederations Cup exposed a number of weaknesses.
A move to Arsenal for Torres would simply represent a half-hearted attempt by the club’s board to rectify the glaring problems and appease the fans. Torres is as big a name in European football as you’re likely to get; he’s won the lot bar a league title. But his arrival would be such a far cry from what Arsenal actually need. It would be hugely underwhelming to go into a season with your marquee signing being propped up by the ropes after a near-disastrous last two seasons in English football.
I question how keen Atletico Madrid would be to taking him back, though the obvious bond between the player and club could disguise his shortcomings. AC Milan are unlikely to look to a striker who is nearing his 30th birthday after they made it quite clear that youth is their policy going forward. That doesn’t mean there isn’t a good club on the continent for Torres, nor does it mean he can’t be an asset somewhere. Yet the obvious clubs that spring to mind are not the best fit, while Torres himself needs to get as far away from the damaging nature of English football and repackage himself ahead of what should be another enormous summer for him and Spain.
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Would Torres be a disaster at Arsenal or is it a match made in heaven?
Many Everton fans could have been forgiven for thinking David Moyes’ departure was inevitable the moment Manchester United identified him as a replacement for Sir Alex Ferguson.
Even more concerning for them was the matter of replacing a man who they hired as a relative unknown in Premier League circles from then Championship club Preston in 2002. It was this season that Everton were one of the favourites for relegation. The club hasn’t looked back since. Moyes has taken them from perennial strugglers to top half finishes in all but one of his 11 seasons at the helm of Goodison Park. This left a gaping hole in the club once he vacated his position to take up the same post at Old Trafford, bringing several of his background staff with him to enhance the loss in Merseyside.
Everton’s chairman Bill Kenwright was quick to identify the ideal replacement he felt could bridge the gap for his beloved club. That man was Wigan manager Roberto Martinez- a man who had just pulled off one of the shocks of the season in defeating big spending Manchester City in the final of the FA Cup. Despite this, it looked likely that he would also be taking Wigan down to the Championship and would have to endure the clear dent in his CV that inevitably came with it. Wigan were eventually relegated in a classic display of the highs and lows one can experience in a very short space of time in the world of football.
This did not put Kenwright off his number one target. If anything Everton’s position was strengthened by the fact that Martinez was a manager who was playing the ‘correct’ style of football with Wigan that was surely too smart for him to remain a boss in the Championship. Despite relegation, it is clear Wigan won many admirers for their passing style during their remarkable 8 year stay in the Premier League. If anything Martinez received even more plaudits.
Meanwhile, season after season the same, often boring words were bounded around about Moyes and Everton. ‘Everton will challenge for a top six position but nothing beyond that’. ‘Moyes needs more resources to be able to compete in the very highest echelons of the Premier League’. Some football fans could be forgiven for forgetting Everton in the Premier League. The question is, did the immense progress made by Moyes in the earlier stages of his time at the Toffees eventually become stagnation? By the time the call from the Old Trafford hierarchy came around, it was the right time anyway for Everton to say thanks but no thanks to Moyes and employ someone whose style of football could challenge the very top of English football.
In some eyes the move towards a manager like Martinez could be seen as risky. Wigan were known for their rather blasé defending style which often resulted in them shipping silly goals. However, at the same time Manchester United were not exactly filling the coffers of supporters with a defending master class last season. Neither were any of England’s other Champions League teams. This era of shambolic defending is understood by Martinez in his attacking style. He has already drawn upon the services of three former Wigan players in a bold move to enforce his style upon the current crop at Everton. Meanwhile, Moyes has faltered, if not been embarrassed in the transfer market so far.
Martinez’s fluid style will provide Everton with more adaptability than they possessed under Moyes- the sort of risk that is needed to make that giant leap into a top 4 or FA Cup win. Meanwhile, Moyes will inevitably stagnate the Manchester United side he has at his clutches if he does not learn to encourage his players to take a few risks. In the past few seasons Moyes played it safe at Everton and got away with it because he could fall back on the lack of resource at Everton. Yet Martinez at Wigan always had inferior resources and wowed the football public at times with the quality produced at the DW Stadium, which worked for a club who were always viewed as the whipping boys before the start of the season and went on to prove everyone wrong with their flamboyant style.
This season, don’t be surprised to see Everton closer to Manchester United in the table than you think. Simultaneously, it will be Martinez winning all the respect for the fluency of his Everton side whilst Moyes simply plods along behind the wealth and resource at one of the biggest clubs in the world.
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AC Milan will turn to Newcastle defender Davide Santon if Ignazio Abate completes a move to Arsenal in the New Year, according to reports from The Express.
The Italian international is being lined up by the Gunners who are searching for replacements for Bacary Sagna, and could be the subject of a serious offer in January.
Milan are keen to keep their full-back, but are aware that if he does move on that they will need to draft in a new man to replace him.
Santon is believed to be their top target.
The former Inter Milan man was once heralded as one if Italian football’s top emerging talents, and was even compared to Azzurri and Rossoneri icon Paolo Maldini.
But, injuries curtailed his progress, and he eventually left Serie A to rediscover his form and fitness with Newcastle.
Milan have continued to monitor his development, and are now ready to offer him a route back to his homeland.
The 22-year-old is thought to be happy at St James’ Park, but he could be open to a switch to Italy ahead of the World Cup, which may benefit his chances of making his nation’s squad for the showcase tournament.
Should Newcastle do all they can to keep Davide Santon?
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Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s first start since the opening day of the season saw him bag a second-half brace to send Arsenal back to the top of the Premier League.
Tony Pulis set his Palace side out to frustrate Arsenal and saw his plan pay off in the first-half as the visitors defended well to go in at half-time still level.
But Arsenal notched up a gear in the second-half and Oxlade-Chamberlain marked his return to first-team action two goals and brilliant performance.
Here’s how the game was covered on Twitter…
HALF-TIME: A fairly eventless opening 45 minutes, with Palace doing well to frustrate the hosts…
47 minutes: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain latches on to a Santi Cazorla through ball to give Arsenal the perfect start to the second-half…
51 minutes: Wojciech Szczesny pulls off a superb point blank save to deny Cameron Jerome’s back post header…
73 minutes: Oxlade-Chamberlain gets his second of the game after a brilliant solo run ended with him cooly smashing low past Speroni…
David Moyes is ready to bring back forgotten man Rio Ferdinand, with Manchester United facing a defensive crisis following injuries to Jonny Evans and Phil Jones last week, reports the Daily Star.
England defender Jones suffered concussion during the defeat at Stoke, and is set to be sidelined for two weeks.
Meanwhile Evans has damaged his calf and is also expected to be out for a fortnight.
The injuries means Moyes finds his defensive options stretched ahead of this weekend’s clash with bottom club Fulham.
Nemanja Vidic is set to return to the first team following suspension, but Ferdinand will have to be called in from the cold.
The former England captain has been frozen out by Moyes in recent weeks, despite having returned to full training last month following a knee injury.
Ferdinand is out of contract at the end of the season, and is yet to be offered a new deal.
He is widely expected to leave Old Trafford in the summer, especially considering he has played just once since December.
“Rio is back and we will continue to use him at the right times and the right moments,” Moyes said.
“Rio has made a great contribution especially in the first half of the season. I played him in nearly all the opening eight to ten games.”
Reports had suggested the pair had fallen out after Ferdinand criticized Moyes’s decision to name his team as late as possible before games.
But Moyes has rubbished those reports, claiming Ferdinand remains a valuable member of his squad.
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“He was a big part in helping me to settle in. He helped me get my feet under the table a little bit,” he added.
“He has competition for centre half, but he is very much valued and looked at as one of the senior players here.”
Former Everton forward Graeme Sharp believes that his old side will be unable to keep Romelu Lukaku at the club if they miss out on Champions League qualification.
The powerful Belgian striker has enjoyed an excellent season on loan at Goodison Park from Chelsea, banging in 13 goals to keep the Merseysiders in contention for a top four finish.
But following their shock midweek loss against Crystal Palace, Everton are now a point off of Arsenal in the pursuit of the last spot in Europe’s top competition, and face a more difficult run-in than their London rivals.
Lukaku has hinted in the past that he is ready to play Champions League football, and Sharp believes that Roberto Martinez will need to guarantee him just that to make his stay a permanent one when the transfer window opens:
“The Lukaku situation will take care of itself. He’s said he wants to play in the Champions League. Now if Everton don’t get in that fourth spot, that answers its own question there.” He is quoted by talkSPORT.
“Where does he get Champions League football from though? I don’t think Chelsea will take him back to be honest.”
Sharp also doesn’t know if Everton can afford to fund a move for Lukaku, who is valued at over £20m:
“I honestly don’t believe Jose Mourinho fancies Lukaku, I think if he can sell him and bring somebody else in, he will do.
“But he wants the best price for Lukaku and in the last couple years he’s got a great goalscoring record with West Brom and Everton as well, so the price goes up.
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“I don’t know what the transfer budget at Everton is and what Roberto Martinez has got to spend in the summer but if he loses [Gareth] Barry and [Gerard] Deulofeu, I don’t know whether he can afford to spend it all on a centre-forward.”
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Don Hutchinson has called on his old side Sunderland to pull out of their potential £14m move for Liverpool’s Fabio Borini.
The Italy international has been linked with a big money switch to the Stadium of Light in recent weeks after impressing while on loan there last season.
Borini was expected to have a future at Anfield with Champions League now a factor for the Reds, but Brendan Rodgers’ side have shown a willingness to offload him by accepting an offer from the North East outfit.
WANT MORE? >> Sunderland transfer news | Liverpool transfer news
However the player himself is reluctant to leave Merseyside, and Gus Poyet wants a final decision made by quickly as he plans other transfer dealings.
Although he enjoyed Borini’s performances in the red and white shirt, Hutchinson believes that it may be a blessing in disguise for Sunderland if the deal falls through:
“He’s a good player and he made a big difference for Sunderland in some really big matches last season, but I look at the valuation that Liverpool have attached to him and I’m really not sure about it,” he wrote in his column for The Journal.
“Fourteen million pounds is a lot of money to spend, and I think if the move doesn’t go through Sunderland will have dodged a bit of a bullet.
“Borini can play to the left of a striker or to the right, and he will probably go on to get you double figures next season – just. I don’t think he’s a really prolific striker who Gus Poyet can hang his hat on, and for £14M Sunderland might be asking themselves whether they can get a bit better.
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“Is Borini half of a Lukaku? I don’t know about that, but they’re both players coming through. It’s a gamble for Sunderland to go and spend that kind of money on someone like Borini.”
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